The Ideal World of Peter Thiel

Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

***

In the previous article, some financial circles that determine the change in US policy were mentioned.

As it is known, the king is played by the entourage. So, when analysing the actions of Trump or his team, it is worth paying attention to one of the main sponsors of his team, to the one who consciously always remains in the shadows—Peter Thiel. This is a very extraordinary personality. I immediately want to draw attention to Thiel's dialectical system of beliefs, in which he feels confident and harmonious—he actively criticises social networks, and no less actively invests in them; he is a gay man who supports the right for homophobia; his libertarian drive is racing at full speed into the far-right conservative depot… to break through the wall there as well, if he wants so.

Unlike most "Valley billionaires," Thiel's thinking is entirely humanitarian. Moreover, in childhood, he was mathematically gifted. Thiel considers himself not a scientist, not a wealthy man with constant meetings (in fact, he spends no more than 10 minutes a day on such trifles on putpose), but an artist. But not a simple one, but by analogy with Nietzsche's Übermensch—an Über-artist. Typical tech billionaires, for example Musk, perceive technological reality as a certain line of progress, in which humanity, history, cultural and scientific achievements are merely a tool for reaching certain milestones on their "glorious" path (flight to Mars, invention of the internet, etc.). Thiel's thinking, however, is the opposite—for him, the successes of technological projects, his own or Musk's, are tools for unfolding historical and cultural processes in their full richness and ideal. In this understanding, humanitarian thinking is always somewhat religious-mystical. The portrait is completed by the fact that Peter Thiel has been a very strong chess player since childhood (the best in the USA in his junior years), so the billionaire's analytical abilities also give no doubts.

In general, the written biography of the billionaire is somewhat shocking, because it is not just non-complimentary, but describes him as an almost joyless fanatic. And most of his acquaintances categorically refused to provide information for the book, explaining this with the word "fear." In childhood, other children considered him arrogant. For Peter, it was normal to break the rules of the game if it led to victory. In his school years, he ended up in a school in Namibia where physical punishment was practiced. According to Thiel, this provoked his lifelong hatred of rules and brought him closer to libertarianism. At Stanford University (Silicon Valley), he first received a philosophical education, and then defended his doctorate in law. There he also met personally and became fascinated by the works of a Stanford professor—the philosopher René Girard. Thiel echoes his ideas in his numerous articles and interviews.

The Philosophy of René Girard

What exactly captured Thiel's attention? The philosopher's works are permeated by the idea of "mimetic desire," the essence of which is that our desires are not autonomous. A person is unable to independently choose an object of desire. They form desires through imitation (mimesis) of another subject. Through mimetic desire, Girard reveals a universal mechanism of conflict: the subject and the model of imitation will conflict over the object of desire.

In his subsequent works, "Violence and the Sacred" and "The Scapegoat," Girard expands his mimetic theory in the direction of religious studies. He argues that in order to avoid collapse due to conflict, archaic society invents the mechanism of sacrifice. The mechanism, according to his theory, functions as follows: the community experiences collective aggression—and to appease it, a victim is chosen, usually an innocent person or group, a nation. The victim becomes the "scapegoat," onto whom all aggression is projected. After its death, the community restores "order" and becomes unified.

This mechanism is the basis of sacred practices and rituals. Myths and rituals give "sacred" status to violence. Paradoxically, the sacred is a sublimation of violence. Girard demonstrates that rituals are repetitions of the original violent event, but in a controlled form. The sacred in Girard is always ambiguous: it is both good and evil, and it saves and kills. Modern societies repeatedly produce the image of an enemy—an immigrant, an "other"—to find the cause of internal chaos.

In later works, particularly "I See Satan Fall Like Lightning," Girard analyses how modern ideologies reproduce this ancient mechanism—the creation of an enemy who is "guilty of everything." The enemy becomes the new "scapegoat." Ideologies, political movements, and nationalism are modern forms of the sacralisation of violence. People and nations still need victims to support their ideals—and these "victims" can be not only individuals but also entire nations. Girard pays particularly important attention to the attempts of modern society to maintain the appearance of peace through mass violence, which is hidden under the disguise of political ideologies or humanistic aspirations.

Thus, we see the keywords in which the billionaire was interested and in which he had a thorough understanding: desire, conflict, rituals, the dualism of good and evil, the ontology of violence, religiosity, the sacred, culture, sacrifice as a mechanism for appeasing aggression.

Thiel and Stanford

At Stanford, the politics of left-wing liberalism immediately aroused disgust in him. He felt that behind the slogans about rights, there was a repressive machine for dissenters hiding, and he wanted to expose this cynicism. Peter became the founder of the conservative libertarian newspaper The Stanford Review, in which he allowed himself open provocations towards liberals. In 1995, Thiel wrote the work The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Intolerance at Stanford. The book positions itself as a libertarian-conservative reaction to the dominance of left-wing postmodern paradigms in humanities education. Thiel notes that "the emphasis on ethnic or gender identity contributes to the fragmentation of the university community and diminishes the importance of universal humanistic values." In his conviction, higher education institutions are becoming arenas of ideological struggle, where the administration and activists push academic goals into the background. The very title of the book embodies the main idea: the pursuit of "diversity" is increasingly associated not with openness, but with intolerance towards alternative views.

Thus, it can be concluded that Thiel has consistently, for 35 years, not accepted liberalism, which, in his opinion, "aggressively imposes unacceptable values," and Obama's policy is hostile to him.

Books on Peter Thiel's Table

He owns first editions of Leo Strauss in English and German—the founder of the philosophy of neoconservatism, a critic of liberalism. Strauss argued that liberalism in its then-contemporary form (which is oriented towards universal freedom, unlike "true liberalism," oriented towards human excellence) leads to two types of nihilism. The first was "brutal" nihilism, expressed in the Nazi and Bolshevik regimes. The second type—"gentle" nihilism, expressed in Western liberal democracies—was a kind of meaninglessness, devoid of values. Interestingly, Strauss's works are very popular among the Chinese elite.

Thiel grew up reading a lot of science fiction and fantasy—Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke. But especially Tolkien; he said he had read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy at least 10 times (the names of his companies Palantir Technologies, Valar Ventures, Mithril Capital Management, Rivendell One LLC, Lembas LLC, Athelas, Narya Capital (nominally this is J.D. Vance's fund, but the name reveals who the real owner is)). Tolkien's influence on his worldview is obvious: Middle-earth is an arena of struggle for supreme power, mostly without government, where extraordinary individuals rise to fulfil their destiny. There are also immortal elves who live separately from humans.

In general, there is no point in listing what a person who quotes the Bible and then Nietzsche and Hobbes has read.

But if we don't take the so-called great books and authors... Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and in general all of Ayn Rand's work was practically a bedside book for PayPal employees.

Books that were noticed on his table:

"Ending Aging" by Aubrey de Grey

"The Sovereign Individual" by William Rees-Mogg and James Dale Davidson

"Bloodlands" by Timothy Snyder

"The Great Stagnation" by Tyler Cowen

"The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson

"The Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb

"New Atlantis" by Francis Bacon

The Start of the "PayPal Mafia"

Working as a securities lawyer, Thiel discovers the world of finance, initially tries his hand as a trader, and finally decides to create his own venture fund of $1 million—a ridiculous sum. Investing in unsuccessful projects, he meets Max Levchin, a cryptology specialist from Kyiv, and the two come up with the idea of the PayPal wallet. It so happened that they rented an office on the same floor as a competing company—Elon Musk's X.com. The unprecedented growth of the customer base leads both businessmen to squander almost all funds on supporting commission payments. This ends in a forced merger of PayPal and X.com (later, a conflict over the name will arise between them, and Elon will develop a lifelong fixation on the letter X). In general, a person familiar with both of them described their working relationship at that time as follows: "Elon thinks Thiel is a sociopath, Peter thinks Musk is a fraud." While working on PayPal, Peter Thiel is captivated by libertarian messianism: he will give humanity a quality of capital that is not controlled by governments. At least that's what everyone was told. Having previously given the leadership position to Musk, Thiel places his people in other key positions, which help him regain control of PayPal during Musk's vacation. And at the very first meeting with investors of his "world-changing project," he proposes immediately transferring all the startup's funds to his hedge fund to carry out a brilliant speculation on the stock exchange. Hearing lectures that this violates all the rules, Thiel probably just shrugged and lost interest in the meeting.

Investors were shocked—this did not correspond at all to the entrepreneurial mindset or the rules of doing business in the Valley. But it is Thiel's flexibility in adhering to the rules that leads to PayPal's success. The company turned a blind eye if customers wished to use accounts for transactions that might contain signs of illegal activity (it seems we hear the same accusations today against cryptocurrencies).

A year later, eBay buys their company for $1.5 billion, Thiel's share amounted to $55 million. He shocks everyone, even eBay, and after the deal, he immediately leaves the CEO post and focuses on his hedge fund. He becomes an angel investor in the little-known network Facebook, invests in a large number of companies. Today we know them as LinkedIn, YouTube, Airbnb, SpaceX, Spotify. About 200 people left eBay due to "differences in business cultures." They supported each other and created a new spirit of entrepreneurship. Through an interesting and extremely successful movement of capital from one technological unicorn to another, with the intertwining of former PayPal employees in the ownership and management structures of many companies, the term "PayPal Mafia" appeared. This term contains two contexts. The first context—through humour—captures respect for the success stories of everyone involved in PayPal. The second context is that while everyone is having fun, this syndicate has successfully extended its reach into government administration. One can have different attitudes towards this term. But the informal leader of the so-called "PayPal Mafia" is precisely Thiel.

Having invested a mere $500,000 in Facebook, Thiel raked in a staggering profit of $1.2 billion. However, the billionaire's stellar success is his own company, Palantir Technologies, which operates at the intersection of Big Data analysis and all manner of intelligence. Interestingly, his company's initial investor was the CIA fund In-Q-Tel, which ploughed over $300 million into Palantir – more than any other organisation. And you know, it's a tad baffling when a chap who declares himself a libertarian is a leading expert in tracking people.

It's reckoned that CEO Alex Karp and COO Shyam Sankar are far more crucial to Palantir's future than Chairman of the Board Peter Thiel. But his political links to the Republican Party and the far-right helped Palantir get "a seat at the table" during the 2016–2020 period. The company received significant government funding.

The Sceptic

Thiel is known as the biggest sceptic in Silicon Valley. His most famous quote is, "We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters" (note – a nod to Twitter). In the pages of a religious journal, he writes: "If scientific and technological utopia was the defining feature of the Enlightenment, then perhaps distrust of this utopia is the defining feature of the post-Enlightenment, postmodern West. The prevalence of this distrust is a good indicator of the extent to which postmodernism has supplanted modernity. This is a point of broad agreement between the so-called Christian right and the Hollywood left, and pretty much everyone in between, with only minor differences in the exact details of what they dislike—whether it's stem cell research, fracking technology, or radical life extension as something contrary to God's will or harmful to the environment."

Nearly every science fiction film of the last quarter century depicts science and technology as a trap that humanity is building for itself. You can take your pick from a menu of dystopias, from "The Terminator" to "The Matrix," from "Elysium" to "Avatar." A film where the main villain is a Luddite, an environmental extremist, or an FDA regulator isn't made (note – Thiel regularly tries to bag the position of head of the FDA – the organisation that manages the market for medicines and dietary supplements). The history of the twentieth century is a history of the loss of hope for the future. Looking back, the dawn of the nuclear age and the Manhattan Project might seem like a key turning point—a great achievement that led to enormous disappointment. This disappointment hit with full force in the 1970s, when the subsequent Apollo programme faltered, and the baby boomer generation redirected its energy to endless culture wars. Whether by chance or design, scientists were put on a short leash and made to spend their time writing grant applications for modest expansions of existing paradigms. The physical theories of our time resemble Epicurean tales of atoms moving chaotically through the void, and it's hardly surprising that quasi-Epicurean physics naturally leads to Stoicism and Epicurean hedonism. I sorely miss the misguided optimism of Faust—at least he was motivated to try and do something about everything that was wrong with the world."

And he adds in various interviews: "Can humanity conquer death? — We haven't even had a proper go. We must either conquer death or at least figure out why it's impossible."

The reasons for stagnation, in my view, are various, primarily the establishment's ingrained perception that technology poses a threat. This has been dubbed "existential risks," the origins of which date back to 1945, when the nuclear bomb was created. Since then, this fear has also been transferred to biotechnology, which is why the authors of mRNA vaccines weren't made into stars. Even 20 years ago, in computer science, the narrative about artificial intelligence was positive, not apocalyptic. But we've sharply veered towards Luddism and now resemble more the escapist camps of the Burning Man festival.

Until the 1960s, fiction was positive, and since then it has become predominantly dystopian. Where did the positive images of the future go? Where did this old religious expectation of apocalypse or judgment day come from in us? Why did it penetrate tech at all? Technological progress has been slowed down as much as possible. What is this zeitgeist? Nick Bostrom, by the way, is from here, from Oxford (note – Thiel's speech in Oxford), writes that it is necessary to:

1. limit technological progress,

2. form the least diverse and inclusive selection of representatives of society,

3. implement policies of restrictions as strictly as possible,

4. create an effective world government.

He doesn't use the word "totalitarianism," but literally everything he proposes implies it. For me, this is utter horror: even if these so-called "existential risks" turn out to be poppycock, an authoritarian global state will still remain in the world?! This is more like the coming of the Antichrist than Armageddon. And it seems to me that choosing the Antichrist over Armageddon is definitely a bit too much."

The "Idea of Escape" and Subsequent Return

In 2009, Thiel wrote a new work, "The Education of a Libertarian," in which he criticises the sphere of politics as such and points to the ineffectiveness of democracy. "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible," he declares. During this period, Peter replaces libertarianism with a certain pseudo-authoritarian philosophy. He considers women's suffrage unfortunate because they vote for the left: "Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of suffrage to women—two groups who are notoriously unsympathetic to libertarianism—have rendered the notion of a capitalist democracy an oxymoron." Scenarios for the development of humanity, in his opinion, are no longer covered by such a sphere as politics, and the latter certainly cannot provide the ideal option for progress. His main task now is to completely distance himself from the political sphere in all its manifestations—from totalitarian and fundamentalist regimes to democracy, which he considers a form of government by the incompetent majority. The only way out, in his conviction, is to escape from politics. Such an escape, according to his concept, can take place in three directions: into virtual space, into outer space, or into the spaces of the ocean. His decision to save Elon Musk's SpaceX in 2008 after unsuccessful rocket launches was connected with the desire to save space as a realm with "limitless opportunities for escape."

Impressed by his own ideas, Thiel initially allocated significant sums to Patrick Friedman, grandson of economist Milton Friedman, to create the non-profit organisation "The Seasteading Institute," later bought a former sheep farm, which had all the makings of a bolt-hole for the end of the world, on a sparsely populated island in the country where "The Lord of the Rings" was filmed—New Zealand (in 2024, after environmental protests, his shelter-house project was banned). And then he finally ventured to create his own proto-transhumanist project—Prospera Island.

(Note – Transhumanism (H+) is a scientific and philosophical movement that, based on NBIC technologies (nano-bio-info-cogno), creates an ideological foundation and develops a project for the fundamental expansion of human physical and psychological capabilities up to the evolution of intelligent life beyond its current human form. The main idea of transhumanism is the endless improvement of humanity. The main markers are immortalism, artificial intelligence, joint or generated adoption of political decisions, space exploration, aging biomarkers, artificial organs, neurogenesis, neuromodelling, preventive and regenerative medicine, nanorobots, singularity, cryonics).

Thiel doesn't believe in the inevitability of death. In his opinion, calling death a law of nature is just an excuse to throw in the towel. Like most billionaires, Thiel is a convinced transhumanist (by the way, he's also a cryonicist). But he's not limited to sponsoring research. He's experimenting in an attempt to create the ideal environment (political, social, cultural) for the implementation of H+ ideas. The government of Honduras agreed to an experiment with ZEDE zones, having its own vision of the experiment—the zones received extraordinary autonomy and the right to live according to their own civil code with their own manager. This is what inspired Thiel to participate. No one knows exactly what Thiel planned to research on the island. But even in a small country like Honduras, Thiel encountered the reality of regulatory pressure. The zones were subject to the country's criminal law, and the very word experiment implied the temporary and unreliable nature of the project. So, cheesed off, Thiel decides not to fight big politics, but to become it, in order to reduce it to the forms he needs. At this time, he notices the philosopher Patrick Deneen with his criticism of liberalism and meets the ideologue of technomonarchy, Curtis Yarvin (with a high probability recruited by the FSB. This, in addition to some destructive ideas, is indicated by the time of his emergence from obscurity and the beginning of significant activity—a few weeks before February 24, 2022) during the latter's speech at a conference. 

The key to Thiel's heart supposedly became Yarvin's concept—RAGE (retire all government employees). It is believed that Curtis Yarvin is the founder of the ideological movement called the Dark Enlightenment. He declares democracy a mistake and authoritarianism the only way to save us from chaos. He proposes changing the approach to dictators, namely to evaluate the effectiveness of governance of society (presumably, he considers Putin very effective). Yarvin's political worldview in the spirit of the Dark Enlightenment is that real power in the United States lies in the informal cooperation of universities and mainstream media (which he calls "the Cathedral"), which conspire to influence public opinion. He admires former Chinese communist leader Deng Xiaoping for his "pragmatic and market-oriented authoritarianism," believes that America's commitment to equality and justice "undermines social order," and advocates for the American "monarch" to eliminate elite academic institutions and the media as soon as possible. A regular speaker at various libertarian and techno-fascist conferences, Yarvin believes that democratic governments are inefficient and wasteful and should be replaced by sovereign corporations whose "shareholders" elect an executive power that has full authority over the country/corporation. As Yarvin explains, "unburdened by liberal-democratic procedures, the chief executive could rule as a CEO-monarch."

Yarvin's figure is somewhat demonised in the media, but I reckon that the influence of his ideas is exaggerated. Most likely, his texts are opportunistic, tailored to one person, and were sponsored. This version, by the way, doesn't rule out the idea of a soft influence of hostile intelligence services, but on the contrary, would be typical. Another version is that Thiel himself invented Curtis Yarvin to voice the most radical ideas (in the same way that he invented the pseudo-intellectual politician Vance).

Thiel publicly said about Yarvin: "I don't think it'll work. I think it'll be like Xi in China or Putin in Russia. Ultimately, I don't think it'll even be accelerationist in terms of science and technology, let alone what it'll do for individual rights, civil liberties, and so on." Nevertheless, Thiel considers Yarvin an interesting and influential historian. "One of the main themes he always talks about is the New Deal and Roosevelt in the 1930s and 1940s." And the unorthodox opinion is that it was a sort of soft form of fascism in the United States. Franklin D. Roosevelt, in this interpretation of history, used a powerful view of the executive branch, a compliant Congress, and an intimidated Supreme Court to bring about what Thiel called "very, very radical changes in the character of our society." Yarvin, according to Thiel, argues that "you should embrace this soft form of fascism, and we should have a president who will be like Roosevelt again."

Far greater intellectual influence is exerted by the ideas of academic philosophers: Patrick Deneen and the Brit Nick Land, who is called the true father of the "dark enlightenment." His main idea is accelerationism. He believes that technology, capitalism, and artificial intelligence should not be restrained, but on the contrary, revved up to the max. Even if it wrecks everything that can't keep up with the pace—democracy, universities, the media, governments.

Anyway, regarding the framing of the ideological foundation, at some point Thiel (then still backing another, unsuccessful, candidate for Congress) found himself at a meeting of the Republican National Committee as a delegate. Seeing his name on the lists, Donald Trump Jr. rang the billionaire with an offer to speak. That's how their collaboration began.

"Zero to One"

His self-help book for the mass market, "Zero to One," sold over a million copies. Alongside advice and success stories, Peter repeatedly tolerates, and even boasts about, breaking the rules. He also reflects on what it means to be a company leader. Here's an quote from the book:

"Why were extraordinary individuals so important to archaic cultures? The characters who were celebrated and honoured served as a release valve for societal emotions: they were praised when things were good, and vilified in times of misfortune. Any conflict could destroy a society if its members couldn't find a way to stop it. Therefore, when public well-being was threatened by epidemics, disasters, or brutal barbarians, the best solution for the society was to place the blame for events on one person.

Who could become the scapegoat? Like company founders, these people were highly controversial figures. On one hand, the scapegoat was weak: he was unable to prevent his own victimisation. On the other hand, someone who could quell conflict by accepting shame was likely a very powerful figure in the community. Often, before their execution, scapegoats were worshipped like idols. The Aztecs considered their victims earthly embodiments of the very gods to whom they were later sacrificed. The condemned were dressed in luxurious clothing and honoured royally, but soon the festivities ended, and the poor soul's heart was cut out. Thus was born the principle of monarchy: every king is a living god, and every god a dead king.   

The key factor in Apple's value was the prophetic vision of a single individual. This fact leads us to understand that innovative tech companies are more like feudal monarchies than ordinary 'modern' organisations. An exceptional founder can make authoritarian decisions, inspire extraordinary personal loyalty, and plan decades ahead. Paradoxically, faceless bureaucratic machines, which outlive any individual, can only make short-term plans. The lesson from this story for business is that we need founders. We must be tolerant of them, even if they seem strange or eccentric: we need unconventional individuals capable of taking the company beyond minor improvements."

The “Access Hollywood” Scandal

This was one of the most resonant episodes in Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, significantly impacting his reputation. In the recording, Donald Trump spoke with TV host Billy Bush, boasting about how he approached women, using his fame. The scandal sparked a wave of outrage, especially among women. Many Republicans distanced themselves from Trump, with some calling for him to withdraw his candidacy. Initially, Thiel wavered as well. But...

Thiel prefers a more pessimistic candidate in any presidential race, because "if you're too optimistic, it just shows you've lost touch with reality." "Make America Great Again" was the most pessimistic slogan. Peter Thiel supported Donald Trump's campaign primarily because he saw him as an unconventional and disruptive player. Thiel was irritated by the bloated regulatory apparatus of the US federal government, and he saw Trump as a tool to help dismantle as many regulations as possible to accelerate technological progress.   

Eventually, a few days after the scandal, he became the first to contribute to Trump's campaign (technically, to the Mercer family, who were Trump's financial donors). And thus, he saved Trump's campaign. Furthermore, he addressed the conservatives' problem with access to Facebook.

After Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, Thiel was hailed as a hero—a key factor in the unexpected win, according to Bannon and others. They invited him to join the transition team. Along with like-minded individuals, Thiel prepared a list of approximately 150 candidates for key positions in the new administration, whom he considered capable of dismantling the excessive federal bureaucracy. However, only his protégé, Michael Kratsios, received a position, and most candidates were never appointed. As it turned out, Thiel's proposals often met resistance from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who insisted on a more traditional approach to staffing. Ultimately, Trump sided with his family, and Thiel was effectively sidelined from personnel decisions. The "national payback" plan failed this time.

However, everything changed after Trump spent a long time licking his wounds after the Capitol Hill assault, which was fatal for him. According to Thiel himself, when Trump called him again, he initially refused to sponsor him. Apparently, it was a game of psychological chess. Soon, the billionaire had little trouble convincing Trump, crushed by circumstances, that the cause of the failure was a misguided bet on the deep state. And this time, the bureaucracy would either submit or be destroyed. In his other ear, confidante Susie Wiles whispered the main criterion for selecting the new team—mid-level loyalty. Thus crystallised the main pillars of what can now be called "Trump 2025."

But, remembering that Trump could fall into a critical scandal at any moment, the billionaire began strengthening his influence in the Republican Party much earlier. He wanted to create politicians who could implement Trumpism without Trump. Thus emerged the project of J.D. Vance, a lawyer who, impressed by Thiel's 2011 Yale University speech, went to work on his team. Vance's statements towards Trump were not flattering. So, the billionaire personally brought the future vice president to Mar-a-Lago to introduce them and resolve the conflict. However, Thiel is not limited to sponsoring Trump and Vance. During the Senate and Congressional election campaigns, he financed 16 candidates. But long before that, he grew close to various far-right organisations. For example, he donated money to a group called "NumbersUSA," whose idea is to drastically reduce the number of immigrants. Or he provided support to the anti-tax club "Club for Growth."   

In 2019, under his patronage, a meeting took place between Trump's people and his protégé Zuckerberg. The starting positions before the meeting—Zuckerberg had to explain the financial security of the created cryptocurrency "Libra," which at that time caused concern, in parliamentary hearings. The result after the meeting—Zuckerberg guaranteed Trump's team a favourable post-moderation regime. Steve Bannon's website (the one who appeared to give a Nazi-style salute alongside Musk) Breitbart began receiving irrationally high recommendations on Facebook. By 2024, Thiel and Musk already had a de facto monopoly on moderation.

Like any project, this goal of Thiel's has three critical dimensions: time, cost, and scope. But it is time that may be lacking. That is why the mechanism sponsored by Thiel is relentlessly fast. The activities of the Trump administration are literally a meat grinder of actions and ideas. Moreover, while Trump looks at the ratings, Peter Thiel is completely satisfied with the chaos of the markets and the state apparatus. After all, his ideas involve a complete transformation of both the stock exchange and the legal framework. He would also gladly rid them of the hated state regulations, introducing them to a magical injection of the world of decentralisation.

After 2028, Thiel already has a ready-made replacement for Trump—J.D. Vance. A person whose legend of financial, and then political, success the billionaire has been cultivating for years. And to whom, in the spirit of antiquity and the Middle Ages, he appointed a live-in tutor—the philosopher Patrick Deneen. Some of the more politically incorrect theses of the odious Curtis Yarvin were also regularly implemented into Vance's speeches.

Peter Thiel on Education:

"The theory that higher education is an investment always used to win: a person invests one's money in tuition, and also invests their time. And in the end, you get a top professional who can earn more money than someone who didn't invest. The theory that higher education is a four-year party was also very popular. Between school, when you are under your parents' control, and work, when you are under your boss's control, there are four years when you can have fun to the fullest. But when these theories were popular, few school graduates entered universities—say, 15–20%. And for those who graduated from university, good jobs were found. Now, about 70% enter. And today there are two other theories that explain the usefulness of university. The first is insurance: if you don't buy it, there is a high probability of falling into such 'cracks' in society from which there will be no way out for the rest of your life. Therefore, parents are willing to make sacrifices to pay for their children's education. But there is another theory—that higher education is a tournament. It is applicable to those who enter top universities—like Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and the like. Not everyone is allowed into the tournament—and it is this exclusion from the elite that is very important for those who aspire to get into top universities."

In 2024, at a solemn event, the billionaire intensified his long-standing criticism of the education system: "Universities have turned into intellectual wastelands, obsessed with a senseless pursuit of diversity. The humanities, in general, are frankly ridiculous, and in the natural sciences, there is no real science, only the imposition of very strange dogmas. It is not enough for diversity to simply hire extras from the set of 'Star Wars.' This absurdity distracts us from very important things—such as the threat to US interests posed by the Chinese Communist Party."

The Destruction of Gawker

Another story without which Peter Thiel's portrait would be incomplete. After the publication of an intimate video, Hulk Hogan sues the Gawker portal. For Gawker, this was an unpleasant but typical situation. However, contrary to established practice, Hogan's lawyers repeatedly rejected settlement offers, no matter how generous they were. The editorial team began to suspect something, but it was too late—the court verdict for compensation of $140 million led to bankruptcy. Later, Thiel personally admitted that he had paid Hogan's lawyers. It was a cold-blooded revenge: eight years earlier, Gawker was the first to write about Thiel's homosexuality. This story is also interesting for another reason—when the jury delivered the verdict, Thiel said in surprise: "Wow, something has changed. Maybe Trump really can win."

One of the manifestations of Thiel's dialectical thinking is his complex relationship with Facebook. Being one of the most influential early investors in the company and almost a godfather to Zuckerberg as a businessman, Thiel simultaneously invested in Clearview—a startup that was presented to him as a tool capable of destroying Facebook.

Thiel Fellowship - another one of his scandalous initiatives: a $100,000 grant for young people who agree to drop out of college to launch their own business or work on an innovative idea. This is a direct challenge to the established academic system, "which is overvalued, outdated, and in many respects harmful: it prepares bureaucrats more than entrepreneurs, and educates conformists rather than independent thinkers. We live in a world where dynamism has disappeared. In a world that no longer dreams."

Famous Quotes from Peter Thiel:

"It doesn't matter how sleek the iPhone is, it still won't allow us to fly to Mars."

"What is the antonym of 'diversity'? 'University'."

"The fear of AI or AGI is just a projection of the worldview of a Darwinist or a Machiavellian."

"I'm ready to invest in anything if I see a path to monopoly in the startup."

"The US Treasury prints 'In God We Trust' on dollars; the ECB could print 'Postpone the problem for later' on euros."

"An example of false optimism is evolution according to Darwin: a process that lasts billions of years."

"California is like Saudi Arabia, only instead of Wahhabism—wokeism."

"We have stagnation in the world of atoms, but crazy progress in the world of bits hides it."

"Inequality between countries is decreasing—but it is growing sharply within them."

"Short-termism is the real religion of modernity. In contrast, at Founders Fund, we look for startups with a long-term and ambitious vision of the future."

Investments in the Service of Philosophy

As already noted, the billionaire does not share Silicon Valley's general euphoria about progress and technological success and categorically does not accept the thesis that "information" will replace "innovation." – We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." Why don't we fly cars? Why don't we live on the Moon? Because almost all intellectual resources have been directed to the Internet and finance. Our technical efforts have narrowed to software that can be created by three people in a dormitory overnight. I yearn for a return to 'engineering with a capital E.' It's a disaster that we still haven't created a cure for cancer."

He created Founders Fund, whose goal is to support companies that can "move civilisation forward, not just create the next mobile application." The fund's approach is radically different from the generally accepted one in Silicon Valley: instead of looking at markets or analysing business models, Thiel looks for founders who think unusually, even eccentrically, and who want to change something fundamental. In his speeches and articles, a fear of the transfer of technology into the hands of a World Totalitarian State is visible. We see thoughts that AI could follow the Chinese model—"they will just give it control over everything and relax." He is also not satisfied with a situation in which power and new technologies will become weapons of World Totalitarian Liberalism, which (as is known from Thiel's early works) "will replace humanistic values with intolerance." Perhaps that is why we see that all his investments are directed either at maintaining control over the means of escape, or at the aggressive implementation of decentralisation (in some ways, AI is both).

Thiel invests in HALEU - a large startup for the production of fuel for the latest generation of nuclear reactors. This is a completely logical step, because without a large amount of energy, the idea of artificial intelligence capable of realising the highest goals of transhumanism is doomed to failure. In addition, Thiel supported the nuclear fusion startup Helion, and the company Transatomic Power, which was developing molten salt reactor technology.

Billionaire's Other Investments:

Anduril Industries – defence technologies based on artificial intelligence. From planning needs and budgeting to detecting hostile elements in the sky and cyberspace (again, a name from Tolkien's world).

OpenAI – artificial intelligence (ChatGPT).

DeepMind – artificial intelligence (Gemini).

Cognition AI - artificial intelligence, programming automation.

Material - artificial intelligence. Deep behavioural analytics, the fusion of psychology and data science.

Scale AI - artificial intelligence. Training artificial intelligence models.

Sentient – the goals of this project are to solve the so-called "AI distribution problem," as a result of which the basic code may be concentrated in the hands of several superpowers.

Varda Space Industries – and again Tolkien. A company with a profile of manufacturing in microgravity conditions. Slogan “Made in space, returned to Earth.”

Synthego – a biotechnology (CRISPR) company whose scientific breakthrough could radically extend life.

AbCellera - biotechnology, an AI platform for antibody discovery.

Applied Molecular Transport – biotechnology. Drugs that deliver proteins through the intestines, bypassing injections (diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease).

Unity Biotechnology – biotechnology. Therapy against aging and age-related diseases (osteoarthritis, fibrosis, and vision loss).

NewLimit – biotechnology. Cell reprogramming to extend youth.

Stemcentrx - biotechnology, the fight against oncology.

BioFire Diagnostics - emergency medicine. Ultra-fast PCR tests for detecting viral and bacterial infections.

Neuralink – Musk's company for creating a brain-computer interface that will expand human capabilities.

Emulate - bioengineering, "organ-on-a-chip." Microfluidic devices for modelling human organs.

Freeform - industrial 3D printing in the space, aviation, and medical fields.

Bolt Threads – biomaterials. Development of alternative textile materials (synthetic silk (Microsilk) or mushroom leather (Mylo)).

Gecko Robotics – nanotechnology. Creating robots for inspecting industrial facilities — pipelines, power stations.

Nanotronics - nanotechnology. Creating AI robots for inspecting microscopic objects.

Impulse Space - orbital logistics.

Crusoe Energy – a company operating at the intersection of energy, ecology, and AI infrastructure.

Solugen - bio-based chemical production. Replacing traditional petrochemistry with microbial bioreactors.

An attempt to build an industry independent of hydrocarbons.

PsiQuantum - creating a photonic quantum computer.

Oculus - virtual reality access headset.

Compas - an algorithm for assessing the risk of recidivism in criminals. A project to automate judicial decisions.

Flexport - logistics subordinated to software, not states or port monopolies.

The Boring Company – Elon Musk's Loop.

Flock Safety — a private Leviathan: security without the state. Cameras controlled by the community or HOA (homeowners association), not the municipality.

Chronosphere — this is "infrastructure for monitoring infrastructure." Corresponds to the concept of "panoramic control," similar to Palantir.

Cedar - fintech in medicine. An attempt to challenge one of the most opaque areas of the American system — medical pricing.

Persona – cybersecurity, decentralised identity verification.

Eight Sleep – biotechnology. Mattresses with telemetry and the transformation of sleep into a productivity phase.

Of course, Peter Thiel could not fail to own a large number of various cryptocurrencies - an asset that seems specifically created for his concept of reducing the role of the state.

Funds

Perhaps the real reasons for Trump's closure of USAID can be found back in 2007 in Thiel's review of the book "Legitimacy of Charitable Foundations." He quotes the author: "foundations should be valued not for what they are, but for what they are not — the state. The benefits of the state to society are inseparable from the coercive means used to achieve them: taxation, market regulation, and the right to eminent domain. The foundation is the most outstanding example of a non-coercive, non-extractive sponsor of public goods."

However, he immediately adds: "The pressure of the left on foundations comes not only from the outside, but also from within. Wealthy people must do something with their surplus wealth, and they want to do something good with it; but since the prevailing ideas about good in modern society are left-liberal, wealthy people tend to invest their millions in left-liberal causes, many of which undermine the financial and social order that made their wealth possible.

As a result, since the 1960s, leading foundations have become a powerful engine of radicalism in America. The notorious funding by the Ford Foundation of 'Catholics for a Free Choice' and the National Council of La Raza comes to mind, as well as the support by the William and Melinda Gates Foundation for the new Arabic KCIA school in Brooklyn, which will have a Muslim-focused curriculum.

In practice, the problem of radicalism in foundations boils down to the personnel who are part of the management and staff of the foundations. In most American foundations, there are three types of people: those we can call Bolsheviks, Fabians, and 'furniture.' Bolsheviks belong to the far left, speak quite openly about it, except when addressing the public, and strongly oppose foundation projects that remotely hint at conservatism. Fabians believe in the ultimate victory of the left but are less rigid than the Bolsheviks and more generous to non-leftists. 'Furniture' simply occupies some space."   

Trade Imbalance

Perhaps the reasons for the tariff wars can also be found in old interviews, or perhaps Trump's team simply found a like-minded person: There is a deep imbalance in trade relations between the United States and China: the volume of American exports to China was approximately 100 billion US dollars, while imports from China reached 500 billion dollars. Thus, an annual deficit of about 400 billion dollars was formed, which, although partially reinvested by the Chinese side in US Treasury bonds, still remained extremely unstable from the perspective of long-term macroeconomic balance.

The idea of globalisation, which gained popularity in the 20th century, was initially based on the assumption that more developed countries would invest in the economies of less developed countries, where the expected return on capital was higher. In economic theory, this corresponded to the concept of "GDP growth convergence", according to which countries with lower levels of development experience higher growth rates, provided there is an inflow of foreign capital.A classic example of such a model was Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century: with a trade surplus of 4% of its own GDP, it invested surplus capital in the government bonds of Argentina or in infrastructure projects such as the construction of railways in the Russian Empire. This model was disrupted by the First World War, which radically changed the global financial architecture.

Today, against the backdrop of deepening economic uncertainty, there is an outflow of investment from China, accompanied by a sense of systemic destabilisation within the country. Against this background, the hypothesis arises that national states in the 21st century may move in one of three directions of civilisational development: Religious-conservative model, Digital-totalitarian model, Eco-radical model.

In the Service of the Country?

In 2018, a Russian named Danilo Bisslinger handed Thiel his business card. On the card, he was described as a foreign service employee. Thiel received an invitation that same day, and then again in January 2022, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But he did not go. Instead, the billionaire warned the FBI. He believed that Bisslinger was an FSB intelligence officer. Which later turned out to be true – the Russian belonged to the Berlin residency. There are rumours that Thiel has long been an FBI informant with the pseudonym "philosopher" and is responsible for "measuring the average temperature" in the Valley. But it is impossible to confirm or deny this.

Peter Thiel and Ukraine

Here, Thiel, as in most situations, is dialectical.

On one hand, there is Rumble — a video hosting platform with minimal content censorship. Rumble gained popularity in the US amongst conservative politicians, COVID-19 sceptics, opponents of mainstream media, and conspiracy theory adherents. It is filled with channels featuring far-right content. Russian propaganda, including RT and Sputnik, actively operates on the platform. The main investor in the platform is Narya Capital, which belongs to J.D. Vance (there is every reason to believe that his fund is sponsored by Peter Thiel as part of creating Vance's success story).

Also, his protégés and communication agents, such as Vance, Kennedy Jr., Trump Jr., and Steve Bannon, are forming an openly pro-Russian agenda for President Trump. Whether Peter Thiel has a direct influence on this, or simply considers it "child's play," is unknown for certain.

On the other hand, on 1 June 2022, Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp made a secret visit to Kyiv, becoming the first CEO of a major Western company to arrive during the war in Ukraine. Karp, like Thiel, also has degrees in both philosophy and law. He is also an interesting figure. Karp moved the company to Denver to avoid the "monoculture" of Silicon Valley. Although usually, when not travelling, he works in a shed in New Hampshire.

So, Palantir offered its help. Over 3 years, the company has unprecedentedly integrated into the daily work of a foreign wartime government. More than half a dozen Ukrainian agencies, including the Ministries of Defence, Economy, and Education, use the company's products. Palantir's software, which uses artificial intelligence to analyse satellite images, open-source data, drone footage, and field reports to present military options to commanders, "is responsible for most of the targeting in Ukraine." But the benefits go far beyond battlefield intelligence, including collecting evidence of war crimes, demining, resettling displaced refugees, and eradicating corruption.

The company Clearview AI provided its tools to 1,500 Ukrainian officials, who used them to identify over 230,000 Russians on their land.

Anduril Industries supplies Ukraine with Altius 600M and 700M drones, as well as Ghost UAS A.I.

Palantir also recently signed a major agreement with the Ukrainian government to help with the country's demining efforts. The company will help aggregate dozens of previously isolated data streams to reach an ambitious goal — demining 80 per cent of contaminated territories in 10 years.

There is another useful dimension to this. Ukrainian engineers "have definitely made our product much better," says Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That. Palantir hired Ukrainian engineers who could adapt its software for military efforts, and they were very satisfied as well. The return on Ukrainian expertise fascinates tech giants. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, during his trips to Ukraine, became convinced that the country's advancements will lead to breakthroughs in the use of artificial intelligence and drones. "There is just so much volume here, so many players, so much innovation, it's really impressive."

German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems also announced the opening of a research and development centre in Kyiv; it supplies Ukraine with Vector AI drones. And interestingly, Peter Thiel, along with Airbus, invested in the company.

For Thiel, wartime Ukraine is a unique laboratory. Since the rules are always blurred in war, it is effectively a continuation of his story with Prospero's island, where ambiguous beta testing can be conducted from an ethical point of view, the excesses of which will be hidden by the spirit of war — what difference does it make to a Ukrainian that they are being watched with literally every keystroke and shop receipt, if it leaves a chance not to lose. Even after peace (and especially a truce), Ukraine will need to maintain "social concentration" for years. And such concentration involves both elements of digital authoritarianism and hope for the effectiveness of algorithms.

With this understanding, and while the potential of the war is not yet exhausted, I consider Thiel (with all the ambiguity of his figure) perhaps the best point of effort to change the vector of the Trump administration regarding Ukraine. "The technology sector will be the main driver of our future growth," says Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Fedorov. This is literally a quote from Peter Thiel about the world. During the recovery, we can offer the most ambitious project for re-engineering the functions of the state. And we can lobby for increased military aid by arguing that in the future deoccupied territories, we can even go for a bold experiment in delegating civil and tax legislation to technological agents, and the organisation of reconstruction, planning, and demining to robotic AI systems. 

As it was aptly said at a technology conference in the US: "Ukraine is a place where AI can reach maturity." This cannot but attract people like Peter Thiel like honey attracts bees. However, if the potential of the war is exhausted, with the emergence of alternatives, this approach should be treated with caution. Thiel's exact worldview and ultimate goals remain unclear both regarding the US and Ukraine. As a friend of Thiel said about his cooperation with Republicans: "Thiel has aligned himself with state power not to participate in the political process, but to end it forever."

In an interview immediately after Trump's victory

Thiel shared his vision of the reasons for this result. And here, the same intellectual matrix that shaped him in his student years, when he edited the conservative publication at Stanford, is clearly visible.

"We are observing not just the failure of individual figures, such as Biden, who is increasingly losing his ability to think, or Kamala Harris, whose rhetoric has never been convincing. This is the collapse of the entire liberal system. A decisive defeat. In eight years, many voters who supported Trump in 2016 have already died. So, to win in 2024 and with a larger margin, he had to convince millions of those who were once against him. This destroyed the myth of 'identity politics' — the idea that race, gender, or sexuality are more important than rational arguments.

The Democratic Party has completely lost the ability to self-reflect. In the 1990s, the Clintons still had a political tactic — cynical, compromising, but at least somewhat reflective. Real discussions took place behind closed doors. With Obama's arrival, this stopped. His entire administration boiled down to two real figures — himself and Michelle. The rest were obedient executors, silently adhering to the party line.

Biden, ironically, was the Democrats' best option in 2020, although Obama almost blocked his candidacy. In 2024, they simply had no others left — Harris was Obama's favourite, but Biden became a compromise: the last 'understandable' white man, a temporary option before a more 'diverse' future. But already in 2023, it became obvious: after Biden, it would be even worse. When his dementia became difficult to ignore, the party was forced to react.

When I talk about the 'system,' I mean not just the structure of the Democratic Party, but the entire mechanism that governs the liberal world. Calling it a 'cult' is too soft: at least cults have a leader. But here — a soulless machine, a depersonalised bureaucracy in which you are just a cog. And each cog becomes less and less important over time. Ideas don't matter. Discussion doesn't either. Everything boils down to quickly reaching consensus and immediately imposing it.

The US increasingly resembles less of a constitutional republic. And it's not about the crowd coming to power, but about the growing role of a faceless, unelected technocratic bureaucracy — what is called the 'deep state.'

In Silicon Valley, we have observed the strengthening of woke ideology in companies for years. When this ideology does not produce results, does not make people happier or more productive, a dilemma arises: increase the pressure or abandon it. For a long time, the first option was chosen. But ultimately — it stopped working."

Thiel also talks about the real essence of tariffs. The idea of tariffs is correct, although in practice it requires flexibility. "Free trade" in its current form is a scheme that benefits some sectors of the American economy at the expense of others. A strong dollar benefits Wall Street and Silicon Valley because the trade deficit returns as a flow of financial investment.

When the US accumulates a large deficit, China receives hundreds of billions of dollars that it cannot spend on American goods. The only option is to invest them back into the US, mainly through banks. Banks profit from this. In fact, Wall Street is interested in the deficit: the larger the deficit, the more money. When the deficit shrinks, banks weaken. This is exactly what happened between 2006 and 2009.

But politically, this hits key states — Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin — where manufacturing used to be. If we talk about what Trump and J.D. Vance need to become president in 2028 — they need to deal with the "Rust Belt" problem. If Republicans want to win in 2028, they need to solve this problem. Tariffs are not an ideal solution for the economy, but the truth is that for the political victory of Republicans in the future, something needs to be done for these regions.

Introducing 60% tariffs on Chinese goods will painfully hit China, but for Americans, it will only be a moderate price increase. iPhones cannot be economically produced in the US, so production will not move from China to the US. Maybe not to the US, but to Vietnam or India. The deficit may remain, but the money will not go to a geopolitical rival. Vietnam is also an authoritarian state, but it does not strive for world domination."

About Ukraine: "it is currently difficult to talk about a clear Trump policy. Historically, perhaps the expansion of NATO was a mistake. Just as we would not want Russian troops in Cuba or Mexico, Russia did not want NATO near its borders. But in 2024, simply walking away is no longer a strategy. It would be a messy retreat — like in Afghanistan under Biden. Trump does not want that."

About science: "if you ask scientists in 2024 where scepticism harms science, they will mention climate sceptics, anti-vaxxers, critics of evolution. But if you ask where dogma harms science, they will say nothing. This is already a symptom. Today, 'science' often behaves more dogmatically than the Catholic Church of the 17th century. Conservatives usually criticise the humanities because their degradation is obvious. But the exact sciences are more esoteric. Science is divided into narrow fields (string theory is understood by only about 100 people in the world), and there is more corruption in it than in the humanities — it cannot be controlled from the outside. In cancer research — decades without a breakthrough. In theoretical physics — decades of theories without results. These things are so difficult for the average person to understand.

Somewhere we lost the ability to ask uncomfortable questions. We stopped doubting. And even if people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Joe Rogan are not right about everything — their approach itself is healthier than the unchallenged consensus of mainstream media or the narrow groupthink of peer-reviewed science."

Thielism

In the deeptech and biotech sectors, a number of companies have emerged that, following Thiel's ideas and focusing on so-called moonshots (super-ambitious projects), simultaneously want to create and monetise a technological stack from which these super-complex tasks will actually be financed.

Cryopets has launched a bold project to cryo-preserve pets (there are more of them than children in the US) in order to start testing thawing technologies after that.

Generate Biomedicines and their risky bet on generative biology (the combination of AI and genetic engineering).

Colossal Bio and their recently revived woolly mammoth from DNA. This caused a mixed reaction in the scientific community — is it like a breakthrough and a miracle, or are these not woolly mammoths? Colossal wants to simultaneously create artificial wombs (otherwise, how to grow a bunch of animals to resettle back into ecosystems), and these artificial wombs are a giant market instead of surrogacy. Doesn't it remind anyone of scenes from the Matrix?

In the 90s and 2000s, Silicon Valley lived by the aesthetics and spirit of Steve Jobs, according to which technology was seen as art. The slogan "Think different" had codes of faith in the creative spirit and creativity. The collective Jobs thought of the product as an aesthetic form. Presentations were similar to religious rituals — users were actively involved in the myth. But gradually, Jobs's philosophy is being replaced by a more aggressive, more ideologically armed Thielism. Thiel asks why we don't fly to Mars, don't cure aging, don't create a new world, but simply improve applications and fonts? He proclaims his disappointment throughout the Valley with the superficiality of startup culture and calls on everyone to recognise the stagnation of breakthrough technologies outside the software world.

And he proposes his own methodology — a radical rethinking of what technology exists for, who should shape the future, and what real progress is. According to Thiel's idea, the answer to these questions will direct the best minds to reassess the role of the state and institutions in innovation and to begin an era of the politicisation of technology.

Thiel's bet is not on the mass user, as Jobs's was, but on the elite creator. Not on comfort, but on radical human transformation. Jobs saw control and quality as the key to dominance. Thiel bets on anti-competitiveness. "Competition is for losers" (c.). But this is not about the economic dimension; it refers to the uniqueness of technology that a priori has no competition. Jobs talked about intuition, magic, and design. Thiel — about truth, the ideal, ontology. Jobs saw beauty. Thiel sees a sacred mission to rewrite reality. Jobs is an artist, Thiel is a super-artist, a theologian of the future who is ready in 40 years to lead his flock from the Martian desert to paradise techno-gardens. But while there are no urgent matters on Mars, the prophet simply watches the world's flock and sells materials to the CIA.

The mythical ideal has been exchanged for the ideal myth.

*****

Instead of Conclusions

Ted Budd, Ted Cruz, Eric Schmidt – election campaign sponsored by Thiel, elected as senators.

Tom Cole, Mario Diaz-Balart, Mike Gallagher, Harriet Hageman, Brian Harrison – election campaign sponsored by Thiel, were elected as congressmen.

Kevin McCarthy – election campaign sponsored by Thiel, former Republican majority leader, former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Michael McCaul – election campaign sponsored by Thiel, congressman, visited Ukraine.

Joe Kent – former election campaign sponsored by Thiel, nominated by Trump to head the National Counterterrorism Center.

Michael Kratsios – head of the company Scale AI, in which Thiel invested, heads the crucially important Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House for him.

Akash Bobba – interned at Palantir, works in the Department of Government Efficiency.

Anthony Yanchar – worked at Palantir, works in the Department of Government Efficiency.

George Cooper – worked at Palantir, works in the Department of Government Efficiency.

Luke Farritor – Thiel Fellowship recipient, works in the Department of Government Efficiency.

Ryan Vanderlei – worked at Palantir, works in the Department of Government Efficiency.

Elon Musk – co-investor and friend of Thiel, advisor to the US President, beneficiary and editor of military and space programmes, including those implemented together with Thiel. Mentor of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which performs the function of reducing the role of the bureaucratic machine in state governance.

Ken Howery – co-founder of PayPal and former editor of Thiel's student newspaper, was the US Ambassador to Sweden during Trump's first term. Later appointed Ambassador to Denmark during the scandal surrounding the purchase of Greenland. I will boldly suggest that there is a desire to take advantage of Trump's authoritarian inclinations to scale the "Prospera Island" project in Greenland.

David Sacks – university friend of Thiel and co-author of their book The Myth of Diversity – financed the political career of J.D. Vance, raised funds for the campaigns of Ron DeSantis, Robert Kennedy Jr., and Trump. He currently heads Trump's AI and cryptocurrency team and chairs the Presidential Council on Science and Technology. Like Musk, Sacks works as a "special government employee" (up to 130 days per year), which allows him to avoid full government control (Senate, audit, etc.). Since the end of 2022, he has actively opposed aid to Ukraine.

Jim O’Neill – former head of Thiel's fund, was lobbied by Thiel in his first term for the position of head of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) – the US agency responsible for regulating food, medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and cosmetics. Today, together with Robert Kennedy, he is responsible for healthcare in the US. His task is to break the traditional healthcare system, turning it into a market of experiments, quick solutions, and minimal regulations.

Clark Minor – former Palantir employee, currently Chief Information Officer of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Oversees information security, cybersecurity, privacy, and records management. HHS already has contracts with Palantir.

Colin Carroll – worked at Anduril Industries, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defence.

Gregory Barbbaccia – worked at Palantir, Chief Information Officer of the White House Office of Management and Budget. This is one of the most influential technology positions in the government. Key functions include: Preparing the federal budget for Congress; Evaluating the performance of government agencies; Regulating information technology, cybersecurity, and digital systems in the public sector. Was responsible for conducting interviews after Trump's inauguration.

Jacob Helberg – worked at Palantir, is a member of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Initiated the attack on TikTok. Nominated by Trump for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. Is a senior advisor to Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir Technologies, who visited Kyiv during the war.

Michael Obadal – worked at Anduril Industries, has been put forward for the position of Under Secretary of the Army – the second most important civilian position in the Department of the Army.

Patrick Witt – received campaign donations from Thiel, Chief of Staff of the Department of Defence.

Kevin Harrington – former managing director of Thiel Capital. Appointed Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council.

Joe Lonsdale – co-founder of Palantir and former colleague of Thiel at PayPal. Active donor to the Republican Party and advisor to Trump's transition team.

Vivek Ramaswamy – close friend of J.D. Vance, planned to head DOGE. Announced his candidacy for Governor of Ohio in 2026. Actively opposes aid to Ukraine.

Michael Waltz – election campaign sponsored by Thiel, held the position of Advisor to the President for National Security. Left the position.

J.D. Vance – financial, political, and ideological vassal of Peter Thiel. Vice President of the USA. Opposes aid to Ukraine and opposes global super-structures of regulation (EU, UN).

*****

Since Trump's election, Palantir's shares have risen by 90%, despite the market downturn.